


Lost In The Woods

by WhiteGhost



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers team - Freeform, Blood Loss, Bucky Barnes Feels, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Denial of Feelings, Explicit Language, Feelings, Getting to Know Each Other, Hurt Clint Barton, Injured Clint Barton, Like literally Hurt, M/M, Oblivious Clint Barton, smart bucky barnes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-11 00:09:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7867198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteGhost/pseuds/WhiteGhost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky Barnes and Clint Barton get lost in the woods after a battle. Clint's injured but won't take it seriously, Bucky has feelings but won't admit it, and everything's pretty much a blur</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys,  
> so, this is my first ever Fanfic and I have no idea what I'm doing.  
> English is not my first language and I don't have a beta-reader, so let me know if you find any typos/general mistakes!  
> I hope this works out and is not a total disaster, and I'm really sorry if it is - let me know what you think :)
> 
> Enjoy reading! <3

“Are you fucking serious?! What do you mean, you lost the detector? How the hell are we supposed to get back?”

Bucky nearly looses it, then. First, the battle goes bad. Then Clint gets dragged in the woods by fucking Hydra so Bucky has to come after him. And now this shithead loses their only chance of getting back to the other Avengers. This is probably one of the most annoying days of his whole life.

“I'm sorry, okay? It's not my fault Hydra didn't watch out for my stuff. I was just trying to not get kidnaped, that has to count for something! Besides, you're the supersoldier. How come you don't know the way back? As far as I know, you weren't the one who got a bullet in their calf and a hit on the head. What fucking hurts, by the way. It's totally your fault if I'm bleeding out”, Clint whines the last part. His leg and his head hurt and he's annoyed that Bucky's angry at him. He was just trying not to die, what the hell? No one can blame him!

Bucky doesn't know what to say. Yeah, okay, he's usually good at finding things and remebering routes, but it's been a long day and an exhausting battle and he's tired and sometimes even a trained assassin can't focus on everything. That's it, that's the reason. Nothing else.

“Okay, instead of fighting, let's just find a way out. You don't have some band aids, do you? Fucking hell.”

“Is it bad? Come on, let me see. I only have some tissues, but it'll do. Stop moving.” The wound looks bad but it won't kill him. Hopefully. Bucky ties the tissues around the archer's leg and applies pressure for a moment.

“Okay, there you go. You think you can walk? We should move, I don't want to spend the night here and it's already getting dark.” Bucky looks concerned to Clint.

“I'm fine, Barnes. It's just a scratch. It hurts but I'm not invalid. Where should we go? Do you remember where we came from?” Clint looks around, but the only things he sees are trees and bushes. It would be a nice view if they weren't stuck in here without water and food. And no clue how to get back. Awesome.

“You got shot, it's not 'just a scratch'. And no, I don't know where we came from.” He tries to remember anything outstanding, a weirdly shaped tree or a flower but everything looks exactly the same. Trees everywhere. He can't even locate the sun anymore, the world is drenched in twilight. “Let's just go northwards.”

“And how do we know where northwards is? I can't see the sun, can you?”

“Look at the trees. The sun won't reach the north-faced side as good as the south-faced, due to that there are less branches and more moss. Anthills are usually south, look”, he points to an anthill, “so we already know the cardinal points. And we don't know where the base is so north is as good as any other direction.” Clint is silent so Bucky turns his head to look at him. The archer's face is awestruck.

“How do you know this stuff?”

“Just... the army, I guess. I don't really remember.”

Clint thinks for a while and then nods. “Okay, let's go.” He gets up from his place on the ground and feels dizzy. Maybe he lost more blood than he thought, but that's fine. He just won't tell Barnes. Everybody treats him like he's fragile just because he's human. Yeah, fine, he didn't get a serum to be super invincible and he doesn't have a metal arm or magic powers or a cool suit for that matter, but that doesn't mean he's weak. He's perfectly capable to kick ass, thank you very much. He marches over to the former Winter Soldier and tells him to lead the way, sir. And if he feels like he's got a concussion and massive blood loss, he won't tell. He's fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys!  
> Thank you for reading this story <3  
> This chapter is slightly longer than the first but not much, I'm sorry but I'll update soon, I promise!  
> I hope you like it!

“Okay, I don't know about you, but I'm tired. We've been walking for what, two hours? I'm up since three a.m. and fought against Hydra and got injured and it's dark, I can't even see where I'm - “ A dull thump cuts him off.

“Clint?” Bucky turns around to look at his fellow sufferer. He's trying not to laugh as he sees him sprawled out on the ground.

“See, that's exactly what I'm talking about! Ugh, I'm not moving anymore, I'm gonna stay here.” He shuts his eyes and tries not to think about the dizziness in his head and the throb in his leg.

“Come on, do you really wanna sleep here? Doesn't look really comfortable.” Bucky's not even trying to hide his smile anymore.

“Are you laughing at me?”, comes muffled from his feet. Barton squints at him and Bucky's heart skips a beat. _I'm just tired, that doesn't mean anything._

“Maybe. Come on, get up. Let's go over there, we're less vulnerable if we sleep under the tree.” He walks towards a tall oak, hoping that Clint eventually follows.

“Ugh, I don't wanna.”

“Are you serious? You can't just lie there, what if someone sees you?” Bucky can't believe it. He knows Clint is lazy but he can't be that stupid.

“I can. I'm not even able to see you, how the hell am I supposed to get up and walk all the way over there? Nah, I'm staying exactly where I am.” Clint's sleepy and cold and he really doesn't want to move. Fuck Hydra. At the moment he couldn't care less if someone came to slaughter him.

“Why are you so tired anyways, today wasn't more exhausting than any other field day.” Is Barnes coming closer? Clint swears his voice gets louder. And – yes, he totally is. In one swift motion Bucky picks him up by his feet and drags him to the tree. Clint curses like a sailor and clings to the other man's leg. “Goddammit, what the fuck are you doing, I swear to god if you let me fall I'm gonna – fuck!” There we go, Bucky just dropped him. Clint's going to kill him in his sleep. Or probably not, Barnes would break every bone in the ex-carnie's body before he could even blink. Maybe Clint'll just pour hair dye in Bucky's shampoo when they finally get home.

“Don't be a wuss.” Bucky honest to god snickers. Clint can't believe it.

“Whatever I'm gonna sleep now. Wake me up if you go to sleep so I can keep watch.”

\- - -

By the time Clint wakes up it's already morning. He rubs his eyes and looks around. Where the hell is Bucky? He was supposed to wake him but now he's gone. Oh my god, what if he got slaughtered and Clint didn't hear it?! Okay, that's not very likely, Clint's not really a heavy sleeper.

“Morning, Barton.” Clint jumps a mile, he hates it when people sneak up on him.

“Where've you been? And why didn't you wake me to keep watch? Did you even sleep?” He looks at Bucky and sees water on his face “You found water?” It was more a statement than a question.

“Yeah, I was looking around for something to eat and found a creek. Don't worry, I didn't go far. Are you okay?” Bucky looks at Clint's face, his skin looks clammy and pale.

“What? I'm fine. Where's that creek? I'm fucking thirsty.” Clint feels like the last time he drank something was _weeks_ ago.

“Right over there, come on.” Bucky's not very convinced by Clint's 'I'm fine' but he'll just go with it. He can worry about him when they get out of here. Clint gets up and leans against the tree for a moment before he gestures Bucky to lead the way. As they get there, Clint kneels and drinks straight away.

“Jesus, you weren't lying when you said you were thirsty”, Bucky mutters as he watches the other man. Clint just grunts in reply. After a couple of seconds he finishes and tells Bucky “Hey, I gotta pee, I'll be right back” and stumbles towards some bushes. Meanwhile Barnes goes to find some berries or anything to eat. God, he hopes they find a way out of here soon, Bucky's sick of all the trees and they've been here for not even a whole day.

“Bucky?” Great, Clint's back. They can finally move. Bucky walks to Clint and gives him some of the blueberries he found. “It's not much but we can make a fire tonight and cook something, maybe you can shoot a deer. Don't look at me like that.” Clint looks somewhat disgusted.

“Fine. But I'm not gonna gut it, that's your job.” Just the thought makes him cringe. It's funny, he can aim at people but killing an animal makes him feel disgusted with himself. But he won't argue with Barnes. Maybe they've found civilization till then anyway. “Let's go.” He puts the berries in his mouth and follows Bucky north.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this wasn't that exciting but it's gonna be, soon!  
> Let me know what you think! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> Sorry for not updating yesterday but I've been busy, my sister had a dressage competition!
> 
> And I've finally figured out how to make the text italic, yey! :D
> 
> I hope you like this chapter :)

It's three and a half hours into their walk when everything goes to hell.

The march itself is okay. Bucky leads the way, Clint complains about the weather – it's too hot to walk, he's thirsty and by the way, he fucking hates nature – and some bees fly around. Pretty normal if their situation could be called that.

And then someone drops out of a tree straight onto Bucky. It happens so fast that Clint struggles to register it. The guy – all dressed in black and with a hood to hide his face – sits on the former Winter Soldier's shoulders for about a second, then Barnes grabs his arm and hauls him over his shoulder onto the ground. The guy's neck is broken in half a second. Clint takes his bow and nocks an arrow. He looks around. They're surrounded. Five men stand in a circle around them, two have guns, one a rifle and the other two only knives. Clint glances at Bucky who looks at the men. For two seconds no one moves. And then Clint shoots an arrow in the rifle-man's eye. Bucky explodes into motion and so do the attackers. One aims his gun at Clint but the archer's faster, he shoots him in the heart. Bucky goes for the other gunman. He grabs the guy's arm, twists the gun out of his grip, kicks him in the knee and stabs him in the stomach – Clint's amazed how fast Bucky moves. Three dead, two left. Clint tries to aim at the one running towards him but he's already too near. The attacker goes for Clint's throat with a knife but the archer's able to dodge the move with a step to the side. The man swings around and Clint drops his bow. Hand-to-hand combat it is. He waits for the other guy to attack. The man goes for Clint's stomach and the archer grabs the wrist that holds the knife. He twists the arm around and uses the momentum to swing the man over his own shoulder. As he lies on the ground Clint crashes his foot on the man's head. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Bucky pull his blade out of another man's back. Clint goes to collect his arrows. He's breathless and dizzy, his leg hurts and he wants to go home. Lost in the woods and obviously wanted by some people. Who the hell even were these guys? They didn't say a word and were lousy combatants. Fucking hell, he thinks.

“Barton?”, Bucky asks. He watches as the other man pulls one of his arrows out of a body's eye. Bucky admires Clint's marksmanship for a moment; it's incredible how the archer never misses, no matter what he aims at. Right now Clint seems a bit off. He's pale and sways slightly as he walks. “Are you alright? You didn't get hit or something, did you?”

“Hm? I'm good, didn't get hurt. How 'bout you?”

“All good. They were awful, no tactics and slow movements. Who _were_ they?”

“I have no idea. Definitely not Hydra, though.”

“Yeah”, Bucky murmurs and approaches one of the bodies. He crouches down and starts looking through the dead man's stuff – nothing. Not even an indication of their employer or their motivation to attack them. He checks the other bodies as well, with the same outcome. “Okay, here's nothing to find. Maybe we can figure it out when we're out of here. Let's just keep going.”

Clint nods and they start walking again. This is their second day walking through this fucking forest and there's still no sign of civilization, Bucky as well as Clint are sick of it. Trees, trees, bushes, and oh, what's that? More trees. Wherever they look, there's just green. Sucks to be them.

\- - -

“Barnes. Wait. I need a break.” Clint leans heavily against a spruce. He's exhausted and dizzy, his leg hurts and his eyes won't focus right. He's sweating, his skin cold and pale. Bucky stops and looks at him. Jesus, why's Bucky so blurry?

“Barton? What's wrong? You don't look too good.”

“Yeah, thanks, I don't feel too good, either.” Clint closes his eyes. He just wants to sleep.

“Hey, hey, c'mon, keep your eyes open. Can you tell me what's up?” Bucky's next to Clint now. He's got a weird feeling in his gut. He feels Clint's forehead, it's cold and sticky. Bucky panicks slightly, this is not supposed to happen. Clint can't be sick right now, they have to get out of here! What if – no, he can't think about that. Clint won't die out here, with nothing but Bucky who can't even figure out what's wrong. _Okay, deep breaths, Barnes._ He looks his companion over and notices a spot on Clint's pant leg. “Clint, I need you to sit down.”

Clint nods weakly and slides down the tree. Bucky sits in front of him and rolls up his pants. “Shit. Clint, you're bleeding again!” 

The archer opens his eyes and looks down. A soft sound is all Bucky gets before Clint closes his eyes again and drifts into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go!
> 
> This was my first fight scene and it was really difficult to write, I hope it's okay though.
> 
> I try to update as soon as I can so you know what happens to poor Clint and stressed out Bucky. Hang on till then!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy!
> 
> I'm sorry I didn't update sooner but hey, that chapter is longer! Yey!
> 
> And it contains *drum roll* FLUFF! Kinda.
> 
> I hope you like it :D

Bucky panics. He's supposed to be calm, he should know what to do. But all he sees is Clint, lying there, bleeding and pale and almost _lifeless_. Clint can't die on him, that's not possible, Bucky can't lose him and that thought scares him to death. _Okay Barnes, calm down, deep breaths. In and out. Okay._ He forces himself to act calm and collected. He checks Clint's breathing and takes his pulse, then he positions him in the lateral recumbent position. Next Bucky cuts off a piece of his pants, puts it on the wound and applies pressure. He sure hopes the bleeding stops.

Clint wakes up two or three minutes after he passed out. Bucky hears the slight change in his breathing and is next to Clint's face right away. The archer peels his eyes open and squints against the light. He's confused and disoriented; why the hell is everything so awfully _green_? He rolls on his back and tries to sit up but a hand on his upper arm stops him.

“Hey, easy there, stay put for a second.” Bucky's voice next to him is soft.

“What happened?” The words sound rough and his throat hurts, his head is a bit dizzy.

“You started bleeding again and passed out like three minutes ago. We have to get out of here, you need to see a doctor. I didn't think you lost that many blood, why didn't you tell me?!” Bucky feels guilty for ignoring Clint's malaise. He should've payed attention to Clint's health. He's only human after all!

Clint tries to sit up again. “I'm good now, we can move again. I don't want to stay in here forever.” Goddammit, the archer's so stubborn! Bucky helps him to his feet nonetheless. He stays near Clint as they start walking again, just to be on the safe side. He doesn't get why the thought of Clint lying unconscious on the floor makes his stomach clench. _It's just the circumstances_ , he decides. _Nothing to worry about._

\- - -

They march another five hours until Bucky says it's time to find something to eat. He asks Clint if he's in a good-enough condition to shoot them an animal. He doesn't really want to but it's better than starving and he is pretty hungry. He sends Bucky to gather some berries or find water. Then Clint ducks into the undergrowth, nocks an arrow in his bow and waits. He lies on the ground for about half an hour, totally still, no muscle moving. And then he sees it. A beautiful light brown deer. It's walking through the grass, plucking stalks every now and again. Clint aims at it but doesn't shoot right then. He's still waiting, lulling it into a false sense of security. Only when it's not paying attention to it's surroundings Clint moves. He corrects his aim, inhales and exhales and then lets the arrow fly. It hits right in the deer's heart. It collapses on the ground and Clint's grateful he's such a good archer. He wouldn't want the animal to suffer. He approaches the deer and mumbles “Sorry, but my friend and I have to eat something.” Clint calls out for Bucky, not too loud because he doesn't want company again but loud enough for the other man to hear.

Bucky's found a gooseberry bush and picks the berries as he hears Clint call his name. He was sure not to go too far away from the other man in case something happened to him. Bucky's stomach growled and he hoped Clint got them something to eat. What he'd give for a burger with fries and a large coke... Shaking his daydream off he stands up and walks towards Clint's voice only to find him sitting next to a deer. It's quiet a scene, really. A dead deer with an arrow sticking out of its side and Clint sitting there, stroking the animal's head and looking so sorry and heartbroken. Bucky's own heart stumbles at the sight. He clears his throat. “Well, I'm pretty sure we don't have to go to bed hungry tonight. We should cut some pieces off and leave the rest of the body, we don't want any wild animals near us, right?” Clint nods and Bucky starts skinning the deer.

\- - -

Later that evening the two men make a fire, eat berries and barbecue the deer. Clint has to admit that it's good. He's happy to sit by the warm fire and fill his empty stomach. Bucky feels the same way.

“When do you think we'll get out of here?” Clint sounds somewhat pained even though he tries to suppress it.

“I don't know. But I hope soon. I don't want to stay another day. It's annoying and exhausting.”

Clint's tired and dizzy and he just can't help it. He feels like Bucky's talking about him, how annoying Clint is and how it's tiring to have him around. He knows he's a pain in the ass and him being injured doesn't help that at all. Clint looks down and says nothing.

They sit in silence for a couple of minutes before Bucky notices how tense Clint is. The archer's staring at his feet and he's not eating anymore. Bucky instantly looks at Clint's leg to see if it's bleeding again but it seems fine. “Are you okay?”

Clint's head snaps up at his words and Bucky catches something in his eyes he can't quiet place. “I'm fine.”

“Sometimes you're a terrible liar. What's wrong?”

Clint hasn't any time to decide if that's a good idea, he just starts babbling. “I know I'm not that easy to be around, but I try, I really do! I'm sorry that I'm annoying you, I promise I try not to bother you anymore. And you don't have to wait for me, I understand if you want to keep moving, as far as I know you can see alright at night. So you'd be much faster without me, it's only logical, I guess. I mean, of course it's your choice, I'm just saying that I wouldn't be mad at you, I wouldn't be around me that much either, so...” Clint realizes he's rambling and snaps his mouth shut. God, he can't believe he just did that. He's so stupid!  
Bucky just stares at the archer and asks himself what the hell that just was. Does Clint really think Bucky doesn't want to be around him? He said he wouldn't want to be around himself... What? Bucky sees the way Clint tries to make himself small and realizes how he hasn't said anything. He slowly shuffles over to Clint and reaches out to touch his knee. He flinches a little at that and looks up at Bucky with wide eyes. Bucky's heart aches.

“Clint... You're not annoying me and I don't want to go on without you. I'm glad to have you around, I really am. Without you I wouldn't have eaten that good and I'm pretty sure I would've gone mad by now. I hate being lost. And as these guys attacked us? You took them out so fast! You're not slowing me down or whatever you're thinking, that's bullshit. And we'll get out of here, soon. And then you'll see a doctor, get all patched up and we live happily ever after in the tower, annoying Tony and Steve. It's a deal, alright?”

Clint looks at Bucky. He can't believe what he just heard. And that he embarrassed himself so bad without any reason to. He was able to mutter a small “Deal” even though he wasn't quiet sure if Bucky really meant it.

But Bucky did. He meant every word he said. He wouldn't want to be stuck here with anybody who's not Clint. Steve would be okay, he figures, but he prefers Clint. The funny guy who makes him laugh more often than anyone else. The only one who didn't act weird around him. The one person who makes his heart beat faster when he just looks at him. The one who lights up every room he steps into and who gives Bucky hope. Even though it terrifies him. Bucky never felt that way about anybody and he's not sure he deserves this after everything he's done in the past.

But that thought vanishes as Clint puts his head hesitantly on Bucky's shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now!
> 
> And I'm kinda confused. Apparently a deer in Europe is something different in the USA? Both are animals but like different? It's kinda strange. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading it :D
> 
> Tell me what you think! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I'm sorry that took me so long!  
> My laptop didn't work for a couple days and then I had no idea how to write what I wanted to write and it was a mess.  
> But now here we are and I hope you like it.

Bucky doesn't sleep that night but he's fine with it. Just sitting by the fire with Clint's head on his shoulder while the archer's fast asleep relaxes him, he doesn't mind the lack of sleep. And he doesn't think about why that is.

According to the position of the sun it's almost noon as Clint slowly wakes up; his breathing changes and his eyelids flatter. Bucky tries to move away before Clint realizes in what position he slept in but that's not possible without the archer falling on the ground so Bucky has to stay where he is and hope it won't be too awkward. Who is he kidding, it's going to be awkward as hell. Clint opens his eyes and squints against the sun, then he looks up at Bucky whose heart doesn't stumble, not at all. He really has to do something about these confusing... _feelings_.

“Hey Barnes, what-” A yawn interrupts Clint's sentence and Bucky tries not to smile. “What time is it?”

“How would I know, I don't have a watch. And you certainly won't find one here because here's nothing but trees and grass and dirt. God, I'm so ready to get out of here. And I guess so are you so we should get going, right? Maybe we'll find some water on our way, maybe some berries. I'm never eating blueberry pie in my life again.” Bucky is well aware that he's rambling but he desperately wants to avoid Clint questioning... anything, really. But mostly why Bucky let him sleep on him because what would he say? _'Hey yeah, y'know, I may or may not be in love with you even though I won't admit it to myself and I just want you to be happy and comfortable and if that means that I won't ever sleep again that's totally fine.'_ Not silly at all. So he just tries to distract Clint with talking. And it seems like it's working because the archer sounds rather confused when he talks.

“Uh, yeah, okay, let me take a leak and then we can go.” Bucky's more than happy with that.

\- - -

“Maybe you should go on without me. Don't give me that look, I just think that you would be much faster on your own. You could get help and come back for me later. I'm not exactly in the best condition to march who knows how many miles.” And that's true, Clint's sweating and out of breath, his heart beats way too fast and he feels like he could sleep for at least a week. And he misses coffee. Who would've thought that going three days without coffee was that tough? Ugh, Clint wants to go home. Bucky's awesome, really, but he misses Steve's I'm-really-disappointed-in-you-face and his speeches about safety and unnecessary risks, he misses Sam and fighting over the remote with him, he even misses Tony and his I-know-everything-better-attitude and the way he pisses Cap off. And god, he really misses Nat. She's his best friend, the person who makes his life a little more worth living. He can't imagine dying without her knowing. Okay, he's probably overreacting but he hates being in this fucking forrest without anyone but Bucky and Bucky's not someone who cares very much about Clint. At least that's what he thinks.

“Okay, I told you last night and I'm telling you again. I won't go without you. Got it? I won't just leave you here, who knows how long it'll take to get to someplace safe. And who says I'd be able to find you again? That's a stupid suggestion so drop it.” Bucky snaps and he knows it but he won't just leave Clint here. How does he not get it, Bucky already told him that!

“Okay, sorry. I didn't mean to... upset you.” Clint sounds bewildered but Bucky doesn't care right now. He just wants to keep moving so he snorts and goes ahead. He still listenes if Barton follows.

They walk in silence for five tense minutes. And then Bucky stops so abruptly that Clint crashes straight into him. But Bucky couldn't care less right then.

“Is that-” He stops and stares in the distance. “Can you see that, too?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's short but I hope you forgive me, more is yet to come! :D
> 
> Please tell me what you think :)


End file.
